5 Central PA Trails!

Hey all! I am linking up with Running on Happy and Fairytales and Fitness for Friday 5 2.0!

Today, I want to tell you about 5 Central PA Trails you should check out this summer! (Or winter, spring, and fall!)

1. Conewago Recreation Trail. "Conewago" is a rail trail that starts at Route 30 just outside Middletown. After 5 miles it turns into the Lebanon Valley Rail Trail. You can continue for over 10 more miles all the way to Lebanon! The trail is great for walking, running, horseback riding, biking, and cross country skiing.

2. Swatara State Park. There are many types of trails here! 

First of all, the Appalachian Trail travels through the park, so you can hop on that and hike North or South. Try parking at the Trout Run Trailhead or the Appalachian Trail Parking just West of that. 

Then there is the Swatara Rail Trail, which is flat and goes along Swatara Creek. You could bike on this trail and it would be beautiful! Park at the Waterville Bridge or Sand Sliding Trailhead. The trail is 9.5 miles total.

One other beautiful place to hike, run, or mountain bike are the mountain biking loops you can access at the State Park Lane Trailhead. There are 6 loops that are about 1.5 miles total. This is my favorite place in Swatara State Park and it is beautiful during any season!

Winter hike on the mountain bike trails at Swatara with Paul a couple years ago.

3. Hawk Rock Loop in Duncannon. This is quite the climb but the views are worth it! The trail begins with nearly a mile trek straight up, but there are places to rest along the way. While I wouldn't say this is an easy hike, I have seen families and children do it. Check out this site for directions, etc!

4. Stone Tower Loop to The General. This is a difficult hike and I recommend that anyone who does this should be in good shape! Also, bring water. I wrote a post about running the loop with my dad and my brother. This is the site we used for info and directions.

There's lots of rocks! Watch out for snakes if you go in the summer...

5. Appalachian Trail- Sherwood Drive to Vista. This is one of my favorite AT hikes in the area! Park at the AT parking area on Sherwood Drive between Deer Lane and Bernheisel Bridge Road. (It's just off Wertzville Road.) Hike North. It is flat/rolling for the first 1.5 miles and then it's a gradual climb to the vista.

There's nothing better than a snowy AT run! Actually, when we got near the vista it was icy so we turned around!

Have you hiked at any of these places?
Central PA friends, tell me a hike I should try!